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- Jan 25, 2010
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Hi audiologists and audiology students,
I have a quick question, and the internet hasn't been overly useful in answering it. When I study in cafes, or when people begin to hold conversations in the library, I use headphones (earbuds) and turn on some brown noise (I prefer it to white noise because of the lower pitch - for those who don't know, it's the difference between listening to rain (white noise) and a waterfall (brown noise)). Even at higher volumes the sound isn't loud enough to make my ears ring or hurt, but I've tried to avoid using it at higher volumes. I may listen to it for 50-60 minutes at a time, take a break for a few minutes, and then use it again. Whenever I turn it off or take the headphones off, my ears ring for a few seconds (tinnitus?) and it feels like there's a slight pressure difference.
While I've found this to be a fantastic way to block out distracting background noise, after a few days it occurred to me that this might be harmful to my sense of hearing. Do any of you have any advice, knowledge, or recommendations about this? Is it safe to keep doing what I'm doing, or should I just invest in a pair of earplugs?
Thanks!
I have a quick question, and the internet hasn't been overly useful in answering it. When I study in cafes, or when people begin to hold conversations in the library, I use headphones (earbuds) and turn on some brown noise (I prefer it to white noise because of the lower pitch - for those who don't know, it's the difference between listening to rain (white noise) and a waterfall (brown noise)). Even at higher volumes the sound isn't loud enough to make my ears ring or hurt, but I've tried to avoid using it at higher volumes. I may listen to it for 50-60 minutes at a time, take a break for a few minutes, and then use it again. Whenever I turn it off or take the headphones off, my ears ring for a few seconds (tinnitus?) and it feels like there's a slight pressure difference.
While I've found this to be a fantastic way to block out distracting background noise, after a few days it occurred to me that this might be harmful to my sense of hearing. Do any of you have any advice, knowledge, or recommendations about this? Is it safe to keep doing what I'm doing, or should I just invest in a pair of earplugs?
Thanks!